Presentation Transcript

1. Responses to historical child abuse in ‘total institutions’ in Canada and AustraliaWhat can we learn from the major cases?

   Professor Kathleen Daly School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Griffith University k.daly@griffith.edu.au
2. Responses to historical child abuse in ‘total institutions’ in Canada and Australia: What can we learn from the major cases? Presentation to Responding to Historical Child Sexual Abuse Forum University of Sydney Law School 31 May 2013 Data reported are preliminary and subject to change. Please do not quote or cite without permission of the author. For further papers see www.griffith.edu.au/professional-page/professor-kathleen-daly/publications
3. From one case to many Mt Cashel: the first case, ripple effects, and connections ‘total institution’ ‘a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated individuals, cut off from the wider society … , together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life’ (Goffman 1961) Drawing out points from Mt Cashel Study objective Methods Challenges
4. Canadian cases Mt Cashel (1989 to present), Newfoundland. Inquiry. Major civil case settlements (N=est 150). Father Epoch (1990 to about 2005) in remote First Nations communities, Ontario. Agreement (N=83). Major civil case settlements (N=est 110). St John’s and St Joseph’s Schools (1990 to 1998), Ontario. Agreement (N=950). Grandview (1991 to 1998), Ontario. Agreement (N=329).
5. Canadian cases (cont) Nova Scotia Schools (3) (1991 to 2002). Agreement (N=1,246). Parallel investigation of staff and payment to those wrongly accused. New Brunswick Schools (2) (1992-2001). Inquiry. Agreement (N=345). Parallel investigation of police for alleged cover-up. Ontario Schools for the Deaf (3) (1991 to 2000). Agreement (N=est 150). Jericho Hill School (1992-2004), British Columbia. Agreement (N=365). Civil case settlement (N=350).
6. Canadian cases (cont) Alberta sterilisation (4 for mental disabilities) (1996 to 1999). Civil judgment (Muir). Major civil case settlements (N=900). Duplessis Orphans (min 26) (1999 to present). Ex-gratia payment (N=4,169). Indian Residential Schools (139) (1996 to present). Estimated 13,5000 claims and 11 class actions on eve of Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (2006). Agreement (N=78,750).
7. Australian cases Stolen Generations (1995 to present). Inquiry. Services (no payment). Civil judgment (Trevorrow). Est 20,000 to 25,000 affected. Queensland Institutions (159) (1998 to present). Inquiry. Services and benefits (Forde Foundation Trust, N=2,222). Ex-gratia payment (later) (N=7,453). Child Migrants (52) (2000 to present). Inquiry. Services (no payment) and benefits (travel). Est 7,000 affected. Forgotten Australians (334) (2003 to present). Inquiry. Services (no payment). Est 500,000 affected.
8. Australian cases (cont) Tasmanian Institutions (38)(2003 to present). Ombudsman review. Agreement and services (N=1,685). South Australian Institutions (56) and APY Lands (2004 to present). Inquiry. Services. VS apply to Victims of Crime Fund (est N=100); or alternatively, file civil suits (est N=100 to 150). Tasmania Stolen Generations Scheme (2006-08). Ex-gratia payment and services (N=106). Redress WA Scheme (156)(2007-11). Ex-gratia payment and services (N=5,345).
9. Summary points Case diversity Canada: 1 to 3 institutions in one province; 1 country-wide and 2 province-wide cases Australia: 3 country-wide and 5 state-wide cases Types of outcomes Three Australian cases have public inquiries only. Most cases have an Agreement (Canada) or ex-gratia payment (Australia). Awareness and response Earlier in Canada (Law Commission of Canada research, 1998-2000)
10. Time When did abuse begin and end? Start year 1899 (when institution opened or policy began) End year 1987 (when institution closed, policy ended, response began) How long did it last? 88 yrs How long did it take the gov’t (or church) to do something about allegations? (‘response’) Year of 1st complaint1960 Year response began 1996 Time taken to respond36 yrs Start year of response in Canada (1992) earlier than Australia (2002)
11. ‘Response’: first official recognition
12. What sparked the response?
13. Outcomes Cash payment? yes 16 NA public inquiry only 3 Services or benefits? yes 16 NA civil settlement only 2 Apologies? yes 18
14. What was the payment? Canada (9 from 7 cases) $31,600 (median) Range $ 15,000 to $96,000 Total spent in payments: $3.5 billion CAD (98,000 people) Australia(6 from 4 cases)$20,700 (median) Range $ 7,900 to $65,600 Total spent in payments: $273 million AUD(18,200 people) Amounts for payments are adjusted for inflation and reported in 2011 AUD dollars. ‘Total spent in payments’ is not adjusted for inflation and reported in local currency.
15. Concluding points We know about VS experiences in institutions, but less about VS experiences with justice processes and outcomes. We know even less about the mindset of gov’t and religious officials (this is often inferred). We know VS desire voice, validation, and vindication; but which type of justice mechanism, alone or together, can best achieve the justice interests of VS?
16. Justice trade-offs for VS Civil litigation: Potentially high vindication, variable/low voice and validation. Uncertain outcome. Takes longer time. Public inquiries: Potentially high voice, variable validation, low vindication. May take shorter time. Agreement/ex-gratia payment:Variable voice and validation, potentially low vindication. Greater certainty of financial and support outcomes. May take shorter time.